Daily News

GovNet News

Conservatives support Change4Life campaign

A future Conservative government would continue to back the Change4Life programme, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health has said.

Andrew Lansley made clear his party’s support for Change4Life, aimed at encouraging healthy lifestyles and tackling obesity, at the Tackling Obesity 2010 conference held by GovNet and sponsored by the Co-operative.

But he told delegates that Conservative policy would not be aimed at telling the public what foods to eat but encouraging people to take responsibility for their own diets.

Mr Lansley said: ‘It is our intention to sustain Change4Life and to build on it. ‘It is not for us to dictate what is good food or what is bad food but to make sure the Change4Life message is part of a constant long term campaign to help people take responsibility for their own lives.’

A Conservative government would work with the food industry, Mr Lansley said.
‘There was no point in castigating certain foods as undesirable. That doesn’t correspond with the way the public behaves and it’s vital that we don’t tell them how to choose foods.’

Dr David Haslam, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said bariatric surgery was spectacularly successful, cutting diabetes in 90% of cases. But patients are being denied surgery because of confusion about who qualifies for surgery with Primary Care Trusts able to circumvent National Institutes for Clinical Excellence (NICE) rules. This leads to some patients putting on weight to meet the criteria. ‘On the one hand we have a successful remedy but on the other hand it is taken away’, he said.

Kate Jones Head of Food Product, Policy and Technology, The Co-operative said the company has been introducing health ranges of products in its stores in response to customer demand. ‘Our commitment is to develop great food products backed up campaigns to help our customers lead a healthier lifestyle’ she said.

Anne Jackson, Joint Director, Cross Government Obesity Unit and Director of Child Wellbeing, Department for Children, Schools and Families said some inroads into the problem have been made though much work is still to be done. ‘There are encouraging signs that child obesity’s prevalence has levelled out since 2001. But overall levels are still high and based around deprivation – there is still a high prevalence of obesity linked to low socio economic status.’

Contact:
Victoria Bowness
Marketing Manager
Tackling Obesity Conference
P: 0161 211 3031

Notes for Editors:

1.
The Tackling Obesity Conference 2010 took place on Tuesday 23rd of March at the
QEII Conference Centre, Westminster.

2. Key stakeholders from across the UK gathered to discuss child & adult obesity,
the government’s Change4Life campaign and Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives strategy,
the National Play Strategy and bariatric surgery.

3. Speakers at the conference included:

Michael Mosley, Medical Journalist and Former Doctor (Conference Chair)
Dr. David Haslam, Chair, National Obesity Forum
Kate Jones, Head of Food Product, Policy, and Technology, The Co-operative
Laura Roberts, Chief Executive, NHS Manchester
Anne Jackson, Joint Director Responsible for the Cross Government Obesity Unit; Director of Child Wellbeing, DCSF
Shane Brennan, Public Affairs Director, Association of Convenience Stores
Derek Campbell, Chief Executive, NHS Liverpool
Dr. Adrienne Cullum, Public Health Analyst, Centre for Public Health Excellence, NICE
Alison Hardy, Change4Life Behaviour Change Planning Lead, Department of Health
Fiona Taylor, Team Lead and Specialist Obesity Dietician, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland Community Services
Dr. Justin Varney, Joint Assistant Director of Health Improvement (Children and Young People), NHS Barking and Dagenham
Prof. Terry Wilkin, Professor of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Peninsula Medical School
Dr. Sarah Yates, GPwSi, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland Community Services